Data distribution method and sytem

ABSTRACT

A method for distributing data among automotive dealers, including selecting the data from the dealers, processing the data, and providing the processed data to the dealers while maintaining confidentiality of individual data of each dealer. The selecting of the data further includes collecting data indicating which vehicles are in demand. The data includes at least one of a number of a vehicle&#39;s make a dealer has in stock, a vehicle identification number, a vehicle&#39;s year, a vehicle&#39;s make, a vehicle&#39;s model, a vehicle&#39;s body style, a vehicle&#39;s exterior color, a vehicle&#39;s interior color, a vehicle&#39;s mileage, a vehicle&#39;s retail asking price, a vehicle&#39;s transactions cost, a vehicle&#39;s reconditioning cost, a vehicle&#39;s age, a vehicle&#39;s selling price, a vehicle&#39;s gross profit, an acquisition need of a vehicle, a selling need of a vehicle, a vehicle&#39;s image, a vehicle&#39;s turnover rate, or an aggregate of any of the above-listed data. The distributed data may provide optimization on return on investments to the dealers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention generally relates to E-Commerce, and morespecifically, to apparatuses, systems, and methods for distributingdata.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] Doing business on the World Wide Web (“Web”) has becomeincreasingly popular and is one of the fastest growing uses of theInternet, which is a collection of numerous individual networks. Eachnetwork cooperates with other networks to direct Internet traffic sothat information can pass among them. The protocols used on the Internetare the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol(IP), which are frequently referred to as TCP/IP. TCP breaks down andreassembles packets of information, whereas IP ensures that the packetsare sent to the right destination or network.

[0005] The Web generally operates on a client/server model; that is, auser (e.g., a client) runs a piece of software on his/her personalcomputer to use the resources of a host (e.g., a server computer). Thehost allows many different users to access its resources at the sametime and need not be dedicated to providing resources to a single user.In this model, the client software—e.g., a browser—runs on the user'scomputer, which contacts a Web server and requests information orresources. The Web server locates and then sends the information orresources to the browser, which displays the results on the user'scomputer by interpreting the received Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)document.

[0006] The addressee reference information on the Web is known as theUniform Resource Locator (URL). A user's browser sends the URL using theHypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which defines the way the browserand the Web server communicate with each other. When the server findsthe requested document, it sends the document back to the user'sbrowser. The information is then presented to the user via the user'scomputer. In effect, the user requests the services of the host, whichmay involve searching for information and sending it back to the user byquerying a database on the Web, delivering requested Web pages, or doingbusiness on-line.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] An embodiment of the invention relates to a method fordistributing data among users of the web site (including, e.g.,automotive dealers, manufacturers, fleet lease companies), or anyone whomay have a use for such data. The method of the invention comprisesselecting the data from the dealers, processing the data, and providingthe processed data to the dealers while maintaining confidentiality ofindividual data of each automotive dealer. The selecting of the data mayinclude collecting data indicating, for example, which vehicles are indemand. The data for vehicles may include a vehicle's make, a number ofa vehicle's make a dealer has in stock, a vehicle identification number,a vehicle's year, a vehicle's model, a vehicle's body style, a vehicle'scolor, a vehicle's mileage, a vehicle's retail asking price, a vehicle'stransactions cost, a vehicle's reconditioning cost, a vehicle's age, avehicle's selling price, a vehicle's gross profit, an acquisition needof a vehicle, a selling need of a vehicle, a vehicle's image, avehicle's turnover rate, or an aggregate of any of the above-listeddata. The shared data of the invention may enable dealers to improvereturn on investments (ROIs).

[0008] The invention may optionally create online trading communities,provide real-time market information, as well as access to a broadermarket of prospective buyers and sellers who are in need of thevehicles. The invention may also allow dealers to provide each otherwith any product for which they have a desire for, and notify each otherif the product becomes available. In addition, an appraisal of theproduct may be provided on a web site. The invention may earn revenue bycharging member participants fees for usage of its services (e.g., basedon a flat rate over a period of time or a per-vehicle rate), as well asearning fees from lenders, insurance companies, transportationcompanies, and the sales of market information to third parties.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplaryembodiments of the invention and, together with the description, explainvarious aspects and principles of the invention. In the drawings:

[0010]FIG. 1 is a diagram of a computer network representing anexemplary web site;

[0011]FIG. 2 is a screenshot of a main menu including a “To Do List”category of the main menu of an exemplary web site;

[0012]FIG. 3(a) is a screenshot listing vehicles for “Wholesale Today”,which is a link to a screenshot listing a dealership's vehicles underthe “Wholesale Center” category of the main menu of the exemplary website;

[0013]FIG. 3(b) is a screenshot showing “Wholesale Center Offers” underthe “Wholesale Center” category of the main menu of the exemplary website;

[0014]FIG. 3(c) is a screenshot showing how to “Make Your Offer” underthe “Wholesale Center” category of the main menu of the exemplary website;

[0015]FIG. 4 is a screenshot of “Retail Sales Trend”, which is a linkfrom “Review Retail Purchase Needs” under the “To Do List” category ofthe main menu of the exemplary web site;

[0016]FIG. 5 is a screenshot of “Vehicles Near[ing] Wholesale CenterMove Date (3 Days)”, which is a link from “Retail Today” under the “ToDo List” category of the main menu of the exemplary web site;

[0017]FIG. 6 is a screenshot showing “Vehicles to Watch” under the “ToDo List” category of the main menu of the exemplary web site;

[0018]FIG. 7 is a screenshot showing review wholesale “Purchase Offers”under the “To Do List” category of the main menu of the exemplary website;

[0019]FIG. 8 is a screenshot listing vehicles that are “Consider[ed] forWholesale Center” under the “To Do List” category of the main menu ofthe exemplary web site;

[0020]FIG. 9 is a screenshot listing “Wholesale Vehicles NeedingDescription”, which is a link from “Add Wholesale Description” under the“To Do List” category of the main menu of the exemplary web site;

[0021]FIG. 10 is a screenshot of the “Action Plan” under the “To DoList” category of the main menu of the exemplary web site;

[0022]FIG. 11 is a screenshot showing “Activity Summary forBaltimore-Washington Vehicles”, which is a link from “Review ActivitySummary” under the “To Do List” category of the main menu of theexemplary web site;

[0023]FIG. 12 is a screenshot of a “Retail Inventory Value Report” underthe “Daily Reports” category of the main menu of the exemplary web site;

[0024]FIG. 13 is a screenshot of a “Market Performance by Make andModel” report under the “Daily Reports” category of the main menu of theexemplary web site;

[0025]FIG. 14 is a screenshot of an “Available Inventory Report” underthe “Daily Reports” category of the main menu of the exemplary web site;

[0026]FIG. 15 is a screenshot of a “Top Performing Vehicles” reportunder the “Daily Reports” category of the main menu of the exemplary website;

[0027]FIG. 16(a) is a screenshot of an “Appraisal Activity” category ofthe main menu of the exemplary web site;

[0028]FIG. 16(b) is a screenshot showing how to place a vehicle to beappraised under the “Appraisal Activity” category of the main menu ofthe exemplary web site;

[0029]FIG. 16(c) is a screenshot showing a vehicle placed under anAppraisal Activity list of the exemplary web site;

[0030]FIG. 17(a) is a screenshot of a “Buy List” category of the mainmenu of the exemplary web site; and

[0031]FIG. 17(b) is a screenshot showing how to “Add [Vehicles] to [the]Buy List” under the “Buy List” category of the main menu of theexemplary web site.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] The invention is directed to apparatuses, systems and methods fordistributing data among dealers. As an example, in the automobilemarket, one of the most important factors in profitability is theefficiency with which vehicles are bought and sold. As vehicles for saleremain in inventories, the profit margin on every vehicle is reduced bycost incurred from depreciation, interest, repairs, and floor planning.

[0033] The following description refers to the accompanying drawings,which illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention. Otherembodiments are possible and modifications may be made to the exemplaryembodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Therefore, the following description is not meant to limitthe invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is defined by theappended claims.

[0034]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating one exemplary computer network onwhich an apparatus, system, and method for distributing data amongdealers can be implemented. For example, in the used vehicles business,sharing vehicle data with other dealers provides each dealer the abilityto identify which dealers in a region have an immediate need forvehicles that they want to sell right away. For auto dealers, theability to find and purchase the most desirable and available usedvehicles as well as locate prospective retail customers in their regionfor specific vehicles give them a competitive financial advantage.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 1, a computer network 100 representing anexemplary web site may include a first router 110, a load balancingdevice 120, front-end Web servers 140 a and 140 b, a second router 150,clustered back-end servers 160 a and 160 b, an external data storagedevice 170, a Wireless Protocol (WAP) server 180, intelligence servers190 a and 190 b, and a voice recognition server 195. The first router110 allows communication between the web site and a publicly accessiblenetwork such as the Internet 130.

[0036] The first router 110 is coupled to the load balancing device 120,which is coupled to the front-end Web servers 140 a and 140 b (whichmirror each other for fail-over routing), and the WAP server 180. Theload balancing device 120 operates to balance data load and to directdata to the front-end Web servers 140 a and/or 140 b. The front-end Webservers 140 a and 140 b operate to provide a user with requestedinformation, and the WAP server 180 provides wireless capabilities tousers as further described below. The front-end Web servers 140 a and140 b and the WAP server 180 are coupled to the second router 150. Thesecond router 150 operates to connect the front-end Web servers 140 aand 140 b and the WAP server 180 to the clustered back-end servers 160 aand 160 b and to the intelligence servers 190 a and 190 b. The clusteredback-end servers 160 a and 160 b operate to process requests for datathat is transactional in nature, while the intelligence servers 190 aand 190 b operate to process requests for data that is non-transactionalor historical in nature. Of course, servers 160 a and 160 b could alsoprocess requests for data that is non-transactional or historical innature eliminating the need for servers 190 a and 190 b. The clusteredback-end servers 160 a and 160 b are coupled to the external datastorage device 170, which stores users' data or information to beprocessed. An example of the first and second routers 110 and 150 areCISCO® routers.

[0037] The computer network 100 may provide for Web usage, WAP usage,voice recognition usage, pushing data, and other foreseeable functionsas further discussed below. When a user enters the web site, the session(e.g., general site navigation, page-to-page, etc.) resides in thefront-end Web servers 140 a and/or 140 b. If a user makes a request fordata that is transactional in nature, then the data is collected fromthe external data storage device 170 and is processed through theclustered back-end servers 160 a and/or 160 b. The processed data isthen returned to the user at the front-end Web servers 140 a and/or 140b. If, however, the user makes a request for data that isnon-transactional or historical in nature, then the data is processedvia the intelligence servers 190 a and/or 190 b. The intelligenceservers 190 a and/or 190 b grab data from the external data storagedevice 170 through the clustered back-end servers 160 a and/or 160 b andprocess the request. The intelligence servers 190 a and/or 190 b thensend the processed request results (non-transactional or historicaldata) to the user at the front-end Web servers 140 a and/or 140 b.

[0038] When a user accesses the system through a WAP device, the data istransferred through the Internet 130 and the first router 110 to the WAPserver 180. The session resides on the WAP server 180. Requested data iscollected from the external data storage device 170 and is processedthrough the clustered back-end servers 160 a and/or 160 b. The processeddata is then returned to the user through the WAP server 180.

[0039] Similarly, when a user accesses the system through telephonenetwork 197, the session would reside on the voice recognition server195. When the user requests data via the telephone network 197, the datais collected from the external data storage device 170 and is processedthrough the clustered back-end servers 160 a and/or 160 b. The processeddata is then returned to the user through voice recognition server 195.

[0040] With WAP or telephone access, a user is able to perform many ofthe functions described below relative to access over the Internet. Suchfunctions include locating vehicles; adding, modifying or deletingvehicles to/in/from the inventory; or monitoring recent transactions(e.g., last 24 hours).

[0041] As to pushing data, any information that is pushed from thecomputer network 100, e.g., alerts via fax or email, is processed on thefront-end Web servers 140 a and/or 140 b. Front-end Web servers 140 aand/or 140 b grab data from the external data storage device 170 throughthe clustered back-end servers 160 a and/or 160 b, process the grabbeddata, and then send (push) the processed data out of the web site viathe same Internet channels on which the user entered, or through atelephone network as a fax.

[0042] The users' data stored in the external data storage device 170may be shared among users while maintaining the confidentiality of eachindividual user's data. Also, dealers managing systems (DMS) ofcompetitive dealers can be networked while maintaining confidentialityof individual data of each dealer. The web site aggregates data from theDMS's within its own system and provides the aggregate data in variousmarket reports or other views to members. A process of obtaining thisdata is to dial-in to each member dealer's DMS a predetermined number oftimes a week (e.g., six times a week) to get the most up-to-dateinformation. This can be carried out by the web site owner or contractedout to a third party. For example, the third party can extract data fromvarious fields within dealer systems to provide the web site withspecific information required for its product. Next, the third party canprocess the data to eliminate duplicate data, check for new versus olddata, and combine the data into a standard file format. The standardizedfile is uploaded in the web site databases (back-end servers) where thedata is aggregated in various market reports and becomes available tothe web site's customers.

[0043] The aggregate data may be used by dealers to benchmark thedealers' market situations, to streamline their vehicles among thedealers' dealerships, and to better understand the dealers' marketplace.The aggregate data includes aggregates of at least one of each dealer'ssales history and inventory, other dealers' inventories, a list ofvehicles a dealer needs to sell, data relating to how certain dealers dowith specific vehicles, book values of vehicles, description ofvehicles, and offers on vehicles from other dealers.

[0044] Other organizations that would also benefit from the aggregatedata or access to this group of dealers include credit unions, banks,leasing companies, auto auctions, automotive aftermarket suppliers,automotive insurance carriers, lenders who offer indirect lendingprograms to dealers, direct mail companies, and transportation andtowing companies. For example, this feature allows dealers to use theaggregate data to determine which bank is most profitable to finance avehicle. The aggregate data can also be put up for bid to dealers thatdo not participate in the DMS network.

[0045] The requests by dealers may require determination of a SmartScore, which is a method of ranking prospective buyers to determinethose with the greatest probability of making an offer on a vehicle. Themethod of determining Smart Score is further described below. If therequests do not require determination of a Smart Score, then router 150routes data such as dealer data to the external data storage device 170via back-end servers 160 a and 160 b for storage. Back-end servers 160 aand 160 b operate as a database interface to the external data storagedevice 170.

[0046]FIG. 2 is a screenshot 200 of a main menu 202 of an exemplary website providing dealers with an ability to view, for example, their daily“To Do List” 204. The main menu 202 includes the following categories:To Do List 204; Daily Reports 206; Dealer Inventory 208; AppraisalActivity 210; Retail Showroom 212; Wholesale Center 214; and a Buy List216. A dealer elects a category by clicking on one of the categories andcontrol then proceeds to carry out the selected category as illustratedand described in screenshots shown in FIGS. 2-17.

[0047] Each screenshot or page of the web site provides a dealer withinformation, and some screenshots may link to other screenshots whichcan be accessed by clicking on the desired buttons.

[0048] Screenshot 200 includes the To Do List 204 category of the mainmenu 202. The To Do List 204 provides an instant view of the dealershipstatus and subsequent steps the dealership can take to attain higherproductivity. The To Do List 204 may include a number of Total Vehiclesin Stock 220, a Recommendation 230 to the dealership in order for thedealership to attain its goals, a Summary 240 of the dealership status,and a Day Supply 260 of the dealership. The number of Total Vehicles inStock 220 includes a number of Wholesale 222 vehicles in stock, a numberof Retail 224 vehicles in stock, and a Total 226 number of vehicles instock, which is the sum of the numbers of Wholesale 222 and Retail 224vehicles. The Recommendation 230 is a number of vehicles 232 the website recommends the dealer to increase or decrease its retail inventoryby. This number of vehicles 232 is based on a dealer-specific Target DaySupply 264 (the dealer-determined number of days that it should take tosell the entire inventory given its historical sales data). Inparticular, the system recommends the dealer to buy or sell its retailinventory by the number of vehicles 232 in order to meet itspredetermined target retail inventory which matches the Target DaySupply 264. The number of vehicles 232 is determined by subtracting thenumber of Retail 224 vehicles from the predetermined target retailinventory to achieve the Target Day Supply 264.

[0049] The Summary 240 includes the following categories: a number ofvehicles in Wholesale Today 242; a number of vehicles needing Review(for) Retail Purchase Needs 244, which links to Retail Sales Trend; anumber of vehicles nearing Wholesale Center move date (Retail Today)246; a number of Vehicles to Watch 248; a number of Wholesale PurchaseOffers 250 needing review; a number of vehicles that should beConsider(ed) for Wholesale Center 252; a number of wholesale vehiclesneeding additional information (Add Wholesale Description) 254; anAction Plan 256; and a Review Activity Summary 258.

[0050] The number of vehicles in Wholesale Today 242 is the same as thenumber of Wholesale vehicles 222. Clicking on the Wholesale Today 242category links a dealership to FIG. 3(a), which is a screenshot 300 of alisting of vehicles in the Wholesale Center 214. Vehicles in theWholesale Center 214 are available for wholesale purchase. The WholesaleCenter 214 listing includes each vehicle's Year 302, Make 304, Model306, Stock number 308, Mileage 310, Color 312, Number of Bids 314, andBuyers 316. Clicking on the Buyers 316 provides the dealer with a listof potential buyers and their Smart Scores. The Smart Score is furtherdescribed below. The Wholesale Center list can be sorted by year, make,model, stock number, mileage, and color by clicking on the correspondingSort buttons 318.

[0051] Moreover, clicking on the Total Number of Bids 314 on a vehicle352 with at least one bid links a dealership to FIG. 3(b), which is ascreenshot of Wholesale Center Offers 350 for the vehicle 352. TheWholesale Center Offers 350 lists the VIN 354, Year 356, Make 358, Model360, Mileage 362, and Color 364 of the vehicle 352. In addition,Wholesale Center Offers 350 lists the offers for vehicle 352 includingHigh Offer Amount(s) 366, Site Area(s) 368, Offer Date(s) 370 (andtime), and Dealer Name(s) 372. Clicking on a value amount 374 under theHigh Offer Amount(s) 366 provides information on the dealership thatmade the offer, and clicking “Sell Now?” 376 under High Offer Amount(s)366 to sell the vehicle under the elected bid. The dealer making the bidnever sees bids from other dealers, so the dealership as the seller canselect to whom the dealership wants to sell the vehicle. Thus, thedealership can maintain its wholesale relationships while ensuring thatit always gets fair market value for every vehicle. Thus, dealers havethe ability to offer vehicle inventory for wholesale much earlier intheir inventory cycle (when the vehicle is, e.g., 15-30 days old,instead of the typical 60 days), while still continuing to offer thevehicle for retail sale. This allows dealers to analyze the wholesalevalue of all used vehicle inventories on a daily basis (wholesaling andretailing vehicles are not mutually exclusive). Accordingly, dealerswill have the ability to sell their used vehicle inventory before theysuffer large wholesale losses resulting from depreciation. Dealers canalso view other regional dealer vehicles up for auction or bidding byclicking on Market Vehicles 320 on screenshot 300 (FIG. 3(a)).

[0052] Dealers can also make offers on the Wholesale Center vehicles asshown in FIG. 3(c). A dealer can enter a Minimum offer 375 and a Maximumoffer 380 or just a Maximum offer 380. A dealer can also enter commentsin box 385 and click on Submit button 390 to submit the offer. If adealer enters both a Minimum offer and a Maximum offer 380, then theoffer will be displayed to the seller as the dealer's minimum offer or apredetermined amount of dollars (e.g., $50) more than a competing offerup to the maximum offer. The seller will notify the bidding dealer ifthe offer is accepted.

[0053] The number of vehicles needing to be considered under ReviewRetail Purchase Needs 244 in the To Do List 204 is the same as thenumber of vehicles 232 recommended to be bought or sold in order for adealer to meet its target retail inventory. Clicking on Review RetailPurchase Needs 244 links a dealership to FIG. 4, which is a screenshot400 listing Retail Sales Trends of vehicles, which include, for example,a vehicle's Make 402, Model 404, quantity of vehicles sold over apredetermined number of days and/or months (Quantity Sold) 406, andcurrent number of vehicles in stock (Current Stock) 408. The RetailSales Trends review the dealership's volume dealers over multiple timeperiods and compare to the current retail inventory.

[0054] Clicking on Retail Today 246 under the To Do List 204 links adealer to FIG. 5, which is a screenshot 500 indicating VehiclesNear(ing) Wholesale Center Move Date 502 as defined by each dealer(e.g., three days). Screenshot 500 provides a warning message that thevehicles under this list are nearing the Wholesale Center move date, andwill automatically be moved to the Wholesale Center within apredetermined period as defined by each dealer. The screenshot furtherprovides a Stock number 504, Year 506, Make 508, Model 510, Mileage 512,Age 514, a query to edit Description 516, and a query to move toWholesale Center 518 for each vehicle. A user may also sort the vehiclesin screenshot 500 by Stock number, Year, Make, Model, and Age byclicking on corresponding Sort buttons 520. To edit the description of avehicle, a dealer can click on Edit button 516 for that vehicle.Similarly, to confirm a move of a vehicle to Wholesale Center, a dealercan click on Move button 518 for that vehicle.

[0055] Clicking on the Vehicles to Watch 248 under the To Do List 204links a dealership to FIG. 6, which is a screenshot 600 listing vehiclesthat do not meet the dealership's administered settings, for example,vehicles that are nearing a predetermined Wholesale Center move datebased on the vehicles' current days in stock 602, vehicles with nohistory available 604, vehicles having a below minimum ROI 606 (thecalculation of ROI is discussed below), vehicles needing description608, and/or vehicles that are overaged 610. In other words, thisscreenshot provides a Warning message 612 that these vehicles will bemoved to the Wholesale Center 214 within a predetermined number of days.In addition, screenshot 600 provides the vehicles to watch Stock Number614, Year 616, Make 618, Model 620, Average Days in Stock 622, AverageGross Profit 624, and Average ROI 626.

[0056] Clicking on the Review Wholesale Purchase Offers 250 under the ToDo List 204 links a dealership to FIG. 7, which is a screenshot 700listing Purchase Offers 702 made for vehicles within a date and timerange 704 to be reviewed. Screenshot 700 further provides for eachparticular vehicle, the Year 706, Make 708, Model 710, Stock number 712,and Details 714. Moreover, screenshot 700 lists for each vehicle 716:Site(s) of the offers 718; amounts of the Offer(s) 720; Date(s) and timeof the offers 722; and Dealer(s) that made the offers 724. A sellingdealer can get more detailed information regarding each vehicle byclicking on details 714. Similarly, a selling dealer can get moredetailed information on the dealership making the offer by clicking onthat dealership, e.g., Farrish Daewoo-Suzuki 726 in screenshot 700.

[0057] Clicking on the Consider for Wholesale Center 252 under the To DoList 204 links a dealership to FIG. 8, which is a screenshot 800 listingvehicles that the dealership should consider moving to the WholesaleCenter 214 because the vehicles fall under at least one of the followingexemplary categories: the vehicle's make and model historic average ROIdoes not meet the dealership's minimum ROI; the vehicle's mileageexceeds the dealership's set maximum mileage; the dealership has nohistory available for this vehicle's make and model; the vehicle isconsidered surplus retail inventory (overstock); or the vehicle iswithin a set days of the default Wholesale Center move age, e.g., threedays. In particular, this feature of the system determines whether avehicle meets its dealer's predefined goals; flags vehicles that do notmeet their dealers' predefined goals; and places a Smart Score rankingof potential buying dealers for each of the flagged vehicles.

[0058] The Smart Score is described below and is based on a scoringmodel that a dealer or a potential buyer can update anytime and thescores that make up the Smart Score can be weighed and changed by adealer or a potential buyer. It should be noted, however, that a sellingdealer sets the scores that make up the Smart Score for a buying dealer.Screenshot 800 provides for each vehicle considered for Wholesale Centera vehicle's Stock number 802, a vehicle's Year 804, a vehicle's Make806, a vehicle's Model 808, a vehicle's Mileage 810, Current Days ofvehicle In Stock 812, a predetermined period Average Gross Profit 814 ofa vehicle, a predetermined average ROI Percentage 816 of a vehicle, aWarning 818 of why a vehicle should be considered for Wholesale Center214, and a query whether to move the vehicle to the Wholesale Center820.

[0059] Clicking on the number of vehicles under Add WholesaleDescription 254 under the To Do List 204 links a dealership to FIG. 9,which is a screenshot 900 listing vehicles in the Wholesale Center thatdo not have a text or voice description. The dealership can add textdescription of these vehicles by clicking on add button 902 on thescreen. Screenshot 900 further provides for each vehicle needing adescription a Stock number 904, Year 906, Make 908, Model 910, Mileage912, and Text 914. The dealership may also add voice description of thevehicles through the telephone network 197 and voice recognition server195.

[0060] Clicking on the Action Plan 256 under the To Do List 204 links adealership to FIG. 10, which is a screenshot 1000 providing thedealership with warnings of vehicles in retail inventory. Screenshot1000 provides each vehicle's Stock Number 1002; Year 1004; Make 1006;Model 1008; Warning 1010 such as add description to vehicles, vehiclesare overaged, and/or vehicles are below minimum ROI; Current Days inStock 1012; and status of ROI 1014. Based on the warnings of thevehicles in retail inventory, the dealership can take appropriate actionsuch as moving the vehicles to the Wholesale Center as necessary.

[0061] Clicking on the (review) Activity Summary 258 (for apredetermined community, e.g., Baltimore—Washington) under the To DoList 204 links a dealership to FIG. 11, which is a screenshot 1100providing a summary of a total number of dealer inventory of a make 1102of vehicles, a total number of offers 1104, and a total number ofrecently added (new) vehicles 1106 and a total number of recentlydeleted vehicles 1108. The total number of dealer inventory of a make1102 of vehicles includes a Retail Showroom number of vehicles 1110, aWholesale Center number of vehicles 1112, and an Appraisal Activitynumber of vehicles 1114. Similarly, the total number of offers 1104includes a Retail Showroom number of offers 1116, a Wholesale Centernumber of offers 1118, and an Appraisal Activity number of offers 1120.The total number of recently added (new) vehicles 1106 and the totalnumber of recently deleted vehicles 1108 each includes a number ofRetail Showroom new vehicles 1122 and deleted vehicles 1124, a number ofWholesale Center new vehicles 1126 and deleted vehicles 1128, and anumber of Appraisal Activity for the new vehicles 1130 and the deletedvehicles 1132, respectively.

[0062] The Day Supply 260 under the To Do List 204 provides the numberof Current Day Supply 262 and the number of Target Day Supply 264. TheCurrent Day Supply 262 is the number of days it would take to sell adealership's inventory based on the dealership's sales history and thatdealership's current inventory. For example, the Current Day Supply 262can be calculated by dividing the total retail inventory by the numberof vehicles sold over the last predetermined number of days andmultiplying the result by the predetermined number of days. The TargetDay Supply 264 is a dealership-specific setting established by thedealership as a goal for the number of days of inventory on hand. Thesystem helps dealers make their Current Day Supply 262 match theirTarget Day Supply 264.

[0063] The ROI is defined based on each vehicle, i.e., how much adealership paid for a vehicle, the profit the dealership made fromselling the vehicle, and the number of days the vehicle spent ininventory. In determining the ROT, the Actual Cost of Vehicle (ACV) iscalculated first, which is:

ACV=(Purchase Price of the vehicle+Reconditioning Cost)

[0064] or

ACV=(Selling Price−Gross Profit).

[0065] Next, the Gross Profit is downloaded directly from the DMS orcalculated as follows:

Gross Profit =(Selling Price of vehicle−ACV).

[0066] Finally, the ROI is calculated as follows:

ROI=(Gross Profit/ACV)×(365/Days in Stock).

[0067] There are a couple of different ways that the ROT can beutilized. One way that this number is used is to average the ROIs forall the vehicles of each make/model/year/mileage range/price range, orany combination thereof of a given dealer. The dealer's average ROI bymake and model, for example, is calculated as follows:

Average . . . ROI=(Sum of ROIs of vehicles sold by dealer, make andmodel over last predetermined period of time)÷(number of vehicles soldby dealer, make and model over last predetermined period of time)

[0068] or

Average ROI=(Avg(Gross Profit)/Avg(ACV))×(365/Avg(Days in Stock)).

[0069] To extend the calculation of ROI to a market ROI, the dealer isremoved from the above equation.

[0070] The historical ROI may be based on at least one of a localmarketplace, a regional marketplace (e.g., a county, a metropolitanarea, a couple of states), or a national marketplace. The system furtherallows the dealer to limit bids from any unwanted bidders. Thus, thedealers have control over what dealers and wholesalers they do businesswith.

[0071] Smart Score is a method of ranking prospective buyers bymultiplying weight and rank. Weights are values derived by applying theevaluation criteria under the categories as follows: how often a buyerbids on the web site; buyers with highest make and model sold in last 90days; buyers with highest ROIs on any combination of make, model, year,price range, and/or mileage range; how often a buyer buys vehicles ofthe same year, make, and/or model; how often a dealer bids on aparticular year, make, and/or model; whether a buyer is a member of asame dealer group; and whether a buyer has the year, make, and/or modelon its Buy List. Ranks are values a dealer may place on the categoriesabove to add additional biases beyond the web site weights assigned.Ranks may be updated in the web site.

[0072] As to the category of how often a dealer bids on the web site,each dealer is scored based on how many bids it made in the lastpredetermined number of days. For example, all dealers with at leastfive bids in the last 30 days are assigned a score of one for every fivebids, with a maximum score set to 10. An exemplary weight calculationfor this category is as follows: Quantity of Bids Made Over Last 30 DaysWeight 0-4  0 5-9  1 10-14  2 15-19  3 20-24  4 25-29  5 30-34  6 35-39 7 40-44  8 45-49  9 50+ 10

[0073] As to the category of which buyer has the highest number of makeand model sold in the last predetermined number of day, each dealer isscored on how many vehicles of the same make and model it sold over thelast, e.g., 90 days. The score is then assigned according to thefollowing exemplary ranges: Quantity Sold Last 90 Days Weight <=3 0.0 *10 * 5/3  >3 and <=7  0.1 * 10 * 5/3  >7 and <=11 0.4 * 10 * 5/3 >11 and<=15 0.6 * 10 * 5/3 >15 and <=19 0.8 * 10 * 5/3 >19 1.0 * 10 * 5/3

[0074] As to the category of which buyers have the highest ROIs on anycombination of make, model, year, price range, and/or mileage range,each dealer is scored based on what its ROI for the make, model, year,price range, and/or mileage range has been over the past predeterminedperiod (e.g., 6 months). The scoring is then assigned according to thefollowing exemplary ranges:

[0075] 1. For Make and Model: ROI: Make/Model Weight <75% 0.0 * 10 * 5/3 >=75% and <100% 0.1 * 10 * 5/3 >=100% and <125% 0.4 * 10 * 5/3 >=125%and <150% 0.6 * 10 * 5/3 >=150% and <175% 0.8 * 10 * 5/3 >=175% 1.0 *10 * 5/3

[0076] 2. For Make, Model, and Year: ROI: Make/Model/Year Weight <75%0.0 * 10 * 5/3  >=75% and <100% 0.1 * 10 * 5/3 >=100% and <125% 0.4 *10 * 5/3 >=125% and <150% 0.6 * 10 * 5/3 >=150% and <175% 0.8 * 10 *5/3 >=175%  .0 * 10 * 5/3

[0077] 3. For Make, Model, and Price Range: ROI: Make/Model/Price RangeWeight <75% 0.0 * 10 * 5/3  >=75% and <100% 0.1 * 10 * 5/3 >=100% and<125% 0.4 * 10 * 5/3 >=125% and <150% 0.6 * 10 * 5/3 >=150% and <175%0.8 * 10 * 5/3 >=175% 1.0 * 10 * 5/3

[0078] 4. For Make, Model, and Mileage Range: ROI: Make/Model/MileageRange Weight <75% 0.0 * 10 * 5/3  >=75% and <100% 0.1 * 10 * 5/3 >=100%and <125% 0.4 * 10 * 5/3 >=125% and <150% 0.6 * 10 * 5/3 >=150% and<175% 0.8 * 10 * 5/3 >=175% 1.0 * 10 * 5/3

[0079] As to how often a buyer buys the same year, make, and/or mode,each dealer is scored based on how many and what combinations of thesame year, make and model it has purchased over the last predeterminedof days (e.g., 90 days). The scoring is assigned according to thefollowing exemplary criteria and combinations: Purchased Over AttributeCombination Last 90 Days Weight Year and Make and Model >=6 1.0 * 10Year and Make >=6 0.7 * 10 Make and Model >=6 0.7 * 10

[0080] As to how often a buyer bids on a particular year, make, and/ormodel, each dealer is scored based on how many and what combinations ofthe same year, make and model it has bid on over the past predeterminednumber of days (e.g., 90 days). The scoring is assigned according to thefollowing exemplary criteria and combinations: Bids Over Last 90Attribute Combination Days Weight Year and Make and Model >=6 1.0 * 10Year and Make >=6 0.7 * 10 Make and Model >=6 0.7 * 10

[0081] As to being a member of a same dealer group, each dealer isscored based on its membership to any group that the vehicle's dealerbelongs to. An exemplary scoring of this category is as follows: CommonDealer Group Weight Yes, Buyer is a member of Seller's group 10 No,Buyer is not a member of Seller's group  0

[0082] As to whether a buyer has the year, make, and/or model on its BuyList, a dealer is scored based on whether a vehicle the dealer issearching for matches an entry in its Buy List, scoring different valuesbased on how close the match is. The scoring is assigned, for example,according to the following combinations: Attribute Combination WeightYear and Make and Model 1.0 * 10 Year and Make 0.7 * 10 Make and Model0.7 * 10

[0083] The Smart Score for each prospective buyer is the sum of thescores of any combination of the above categories based on: how often abuyer bids on the web site (quantity of bids made over the lastpredetermined number of days); how many vehicles of the same make andmodel a buyer (dealer) sold over the past predetermined period of time;buyers with the highest ROIs based on any combination of make, model,year, price range, and/or mileage range over the past predeterminedperiod of time; how often a buyer buys vehicles of the same year, make,and/or model; how often a buyer (dealer) bids on a particular year,make, and/or model; whether a buyer is a member of a same dealer group;and whether a buyer has the year, make, and/or model on its Buy List.

[0084] The Daily Reports 206 of the main menu 202 is described next. TheDaily Reports 206 include a Retail Inventory Value Report 1200 as shownin FIG. 12, the Action Plan report 1000 as shown in FIG. 10, a MarketPerformance by Make and Model report 1300 as shown in FIG. 13, aDealership Performance by Make and Model report that is similar to theMarket Performance by Make and Model report 1300 but shows dealershipperformance (not shown), an Available Inventory report 1400 as shown inFIG. 14, the Retail Sales Trends report 400 as shown in FIG. 4, theVehicles to Watch report 600 as shown in FIG. 6, and a Top PerformingVehicles report 1500 as shown in FIG. 15. The Retail Inventory ValueReport 1200 provides a list of all the vehicles in a dealership's retailinventory. Specifically, the Retail Inventory Value Report 1200 providesthe vehicles' Stock Number 1202, Year 1204, Make 1206, Model 1208,Mileage 1210, Retail Price 1212, Vehicle ACV 1214, average Black BookValue 1216, National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) trade value1218, and Current Days in Stock 1220. The Action Plan report 1000 isdescribed above with regard to the Action Plan 256 under the To Do List204.

[0085] The Market Performance by Make and Model report 1300 shows themake 1302 and model 1304 of a vehicle, and provides informationregarding the number of vehicles sold of the make 1302 and model 1304over the last predetermined period of time 1312 (e.g., months and/ordays), the current number of the vehicles in stock 1314, an averagegross profit over a period of time 1316 (e.g. six months), an averagedays to retail over a period of time 1318 (e.g., six months), and anaverage ROI over a period of time 1320 (e.g., six months). Theinformation 1312, 1314, 1316, 1318, and 1320 are provided for each ofthe categories of price range 1306, mileage 1308, and year 1310.Moreover, each of the price range 1306, mileage 1308, year 1310, and theinformation 1312, 1314, 1316, 1318, and 1320 can be sorted by clickingon the corresponding sort buttons 1322.

[0086] The Dealership Performance by Make and Model report (not shown)provides similar information to the Market Performance by Make and Modelreport 1300 except at a dealership level rather than the market level.

[0087] The Available Inventory Report 1400 is a list of Wholesale Centeror Appraisal Activity vehicles that match the dealership's Buy List asdescribed below with FIG. 17, or vehicles that have an historic ROIhigher than the minimum dealer ROI as well as a mileage under thedealer's maximum mileage setting. The Available Inventory Report 1400includes the vehicles' Year 1402, Make 1404, Model 1406, Mileage 1408,Color 1410, Area 1412, Dealership Name 1414, Dealership Contact Name(e.g., salesperson) 1416, and Dealership Contact Number (e.g., telephonenumber) 1418. Each of the information 1402, 1404, 1406, 1408, 1410,1412, 1414, 1416 and 1418 of the Available Inventory Report 1400 can besorted by clicking on the corresponding sort buttons 1420. Moreover, adealership can also print the Available Inventory Report 1400 byclicking on the “Printer friendly version of this page” 1422.

[0088] The Top Performing Vehicles report 1500 provides a list of topperforming retail vehicles by dealership 1502 and a list of topperforming retail vehicles by market 1520. Each of the top performingretail vehicles by dealership 1502 and top performing retail vehicles bymarket 1520 provides the vehicles' Year(s) 1504 and 1522, Make(s) 1506and 1524, Model(s) 1508 and 1526, Volume(s) Sold 1510 and 1528, AverageGross Profit(s) 1512 and 1530, Average Days to Retail 1514 and 1532, andAverage ROI(s) 1516 and 1534, respectively. The Top Performing RetailVehicles by Dealership further provides a Click button 1518 to sort theDealer Top Performance Report. Similarly, the Top Performing RetailVehicles by Market provides a Click button 1536 to sort the Market TopPerformance Report.

[0089] The Retail Sales Trends report, the Vehicles to Watch report, andthe Action Plan report are described above and shown in FIGS. 4, 6, and10, respectively.

[0090] The Daily Reports 206, either alone or in combination, providethe dealers with important information to optimize their business. Thatis, the Daily Reports 206 provide the dealers with various reports andcomparisons that are based on at least one of a local marketplace, aregional marketplace, a national marketplace, a like-size dealership(e.g., comparisons of similar-sized dealers), and a like-make dealership(e.g., comparisons of dealers selling similar or same make vehicles).For example, the Inventory Value Report 1200 and the Action Plan report1000 provide the dealers with information to evaluate and manage theirinventories, develop strategies to limit depreciation and retain maximumresale value, and determine which vehicles need to be sold mosturgently. Another example is the Retail Price 1212, Vehicle ACV 1214,Black Book value 1216, and NADA value 1218 together provide a dealershipwith real time market value of a used vehicle versus the book value ofthe vehicle. The market value provides the dealership with a value abuyer is willing to purchase that vehicle for versus a book value thatlets the dealer know what the average price buyers have been paying inthe past predetermined number of days for a similar type vehicle. Thatis, a dealer can instantly see its cash value of every used vehicle ininventory.

[0091]FIG. 16(a) illustrates an Appraisal Activity screenshot 1600 ofthe Appraisal Activity category 210 under the main menu 200. TheAppraisal Activity screenshot 1600 displays vehicles that dealers needto value quickly, for example, vehicles that a dealership may need totake in trade to finalize a deal. The list of vehicles includes eachvehicle's Year 1606, Make 1608, Model 1610, Mileage 1612, Condition1614, number of Bids 1616, and whether the vehicle has been removed orDeleted 1618. A dealership can view the list of vehicles submitted by it(Dealership Vehicles 1620) or vehicles submitted by all dealerships byclicking on Market Vehicles 1622. Appraisal Activity allows thedealership to have all of its trade-ins or in stock inventory instantlyappraised by hundreds of dealers and wholesalers in a region by clickingon an “Appraise a Car” button 1602, which provides a link to screenshot1650 as shown in FIG. 16(b) to be filled out in order to post a vehiclefor view by other dealers. Screenshot 1650 allows the dealership toenter all relevant information of the vehicle (e.g., VIN 1652, ExteriorColor 1654, Mileage 1656, Condition 1658, etc.) and to click on Appraisea Car button 1660 in FIG. 16(b) to enter the vehicle to be appraised asshown in FIG. 16(c). This allows the dealership to quickly gaugeinterest in a particular vehicle before accepting it as a trade-in. Thatis, the appraisal list allows a dealer to determine the value of eachvehicle based on how much other dealers are willing to bid for it. Allbids are instantly sent to the selling dealership and a biddingdealership is notified if the selling dealership accepts the bid oroffer from the bidding dealership.

[0092] Dealers can also obtain historical data on recent trade-in valuesfor a particular vehicle in their market via book values and aggregatemarket performance, which minimizes the price risk of selling usedvehicles. Many dealers do not have accurate market values for theirvehicles and suffer large wholesale losses by overvaluing used vehicletrade-ins, and miss retail sales opportunities by undervaluing usedvehicle retail prices. With the appraisal and get book values features,the undervaluing price risk problem is minimized.

[0093] A dealership can also get book values on a vehicle by pressingthe “Get Book Value” 1604, which provides the dealership with appraisalsfrom, e.g., NADA and the Black Book. The dealership can see various bodytype/options combinations available for the vehicle by following theprompts on subsequent pages. For example, the dealership can receive aVehicle Appraisal Report adjusted for vehicle options (not shown sincebody types and options combinations are information owned by thirdparties and licensed to the web site).

[0094]FIG. 17(a) is a Buy List screenshot 1700 of the Buy List category216 under the main menu 200 of the exemplary web site. The Buy List is alist of vehicles that a dealership wants to buy. The Buy List 1700provides a list of vehicles by their Make 1702, Model 1704, Year From1706 a make of a vehicle, Year To 1708 a make of a vehicle, Miles From1710 (minimum mileage of a vehicle), Miles To 1712 (maximum mileage of avehicle), Notes 1714 on a vehicle, number of Hits 1716 on a vehicle, andAlert 1718. A dealership can add vehicles to the Buy List 1700 byclicking on Add Vehicle to Buy List 1720.

[0095]FIG. 17(b) shows a screenshot 1750 that is a link from Add Vehicleto Buy List 1720. Screenshot 1750 allows a dealership to add a vehicleto Buy List screenshot 1700 by querying the dealership to select a Make1752 of the vehicle, Miles From 1754 (minimum mileage of a vehicle),Miles To 1756 (maximum mileage of a vehicle), Year From 1758 make of thevehicle, Year To 1760 make of the vehicle, Model 1762 of the vehicle,and Add to Buy List button 1764. Alert 1718 provides an alert to adealership when any other dealer in the dealership's region adds to theweb site a match either into their inventory or Appraisal Activity thatthe dealership has not reviewed. The number of Hits 1716 indicates thetotal number of matching vehicles in the web site's database, includingthe dealership's vehicles. Moreover, the web site provides thedealership with information such as the other dealers' needs and theirlocations, etc., in order for the dealership to complete itstransaction. The web site can also have the dealership's Buy List linkedto a WAP device so the dealership will always know when a vehicle itneeds is available.

[0096] Specifically, a potential buyer of a used vehicle is alertedusing at least a fax device, a desktop computing device, a portablemessage device, a portable voice device, a telephone, a pager, or theWAP device while maintaining confidentiality of individual data of eachdealer. This wireless capability allows dealers and re-marketers tocommunicate and transact with their business-to-business partners. Thedealers and re-marketers can conduct all their daily operationswirelessly, thus achieving tremendous cost and time savings. Dealerswill have access to real-time vehicle information anywhere and anytime.The wireless extension provides dealers access to core functionalitiesof the web site using the WAP enable device. Currently, WAP is availablefor cellular phones, but it is foreseeable that the wireless extensionwill also work for any wireless device such as Palm Pilots, Pocket PCs,etc. The feasibility of wireless development exists with the web sitedue to the scaleable nature in which the site is developed. That is,each dealership is provided with a UserID and password, which it can usefor both the desktop web site and wireless device. For example, adealership can view a vehicle, offer details, and make and confirmvehicle offers via the desktop web site or a WAP device. In addition,each dealership can use the UserID provided to go online and get orprovide additional data on the vehicles.

[0097] Dealers and re-marketers can also conduct many of their dailyoperations wirelessly. Dealers may have access to real-time vehicleinformation anywhere and anytime. The wireless extension providesdealers access to core functionalities of the web site using a WAPenable device.

[0098] While this invention has been described in conjunction with thespecific exemplary embodiments outlined above, it is evident that manyalternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of theinvention, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative, notlimiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

[0099] It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that theembodiments as described above may be implemented in many differentembodiments of software, firmware and hardware in the entitiesillustrated in the figures. The actual software code or specializedcontrol hardware used to implement the present invention is not limitingof the present invention. Thus, the operation and behavior of theembodiments were described without specific reference to the specificsoftware code or specialized hardware components, it being understoodthat a person of ordinary skill in the art would be able to designsoftware and control hardware to implement the embodiments based on thedescription herein.

What is claimed:
 1. A method for distributing data among competitivedealers, comprising: selecting the data from the dealers; processing thedata; and providing the processed data to the dealers while maintainingconfidentiality of individual data of each dealer.
 2. A method of claim1, wherein the selecting of the data further comprises collecting dataindicating which vehicles are in demand.
 3. A method of claim 2, whereinthe data includes at least one of a number of a vehicle's make a dealerhas in stock, a vehicle identification number, a vehicle's year, avehicle's make, a vehicle's model, a vehicle's body style, a vehicle'sexterior color, a vehicle's interior color, a vehicle's mileage, avehicle's retail asking price, a vehicle's transactions cost, avehicle's reconditioning cost, a vehicle's age, a vehicle's sellingprice, a vehicle's gross profit, an acquisition need of a vehicle, aselling need of a vehicle, a vehicle's image, a vehicle's turnover rate,or an aggregate of any of the above-listed data.
 4. A method of claim 1,wherein the distributed data provide optimization on return oninvestments to the dealers.
 5. A method for networking dealers managingsystems, comprising: pooling data from the dealers managing systems toproduce aggregate data while maintaining confidentiality of individualdata of each dealer; and sharing the aggregate data among the dealers;wherein the dealers use the aggregate data to benchmark the dealers'market situations and to better understand the dealers' marketplace. 6.A method of claim 5, wherein the aggregate data includes aggregates ofat least one of each dealer's sales history, each dealer's inventory,each dealer's manufacturing brand, each dealer's size, other dealers'inventories, a list of vehicles a dealer needs to sell, data relating tohow certain dealers do with specific vehicles, book values of vehicles,description of vehicles, and offers on vehicles from other dealers.
 7. Amethod of claim 6, further providing to the dealer a list of dealers whomight be interested in the list of vehicles the dealer needs to sell. 8.A method of claim 5, wherein the marketplace is at least one of a local,a regional, or a national marketplace.
 9. A method of claim 5, whereinthe dealers are at least one of a franchise dealer, a wholesale dealer,a retail dealer, or an independent dealer.
 10. A method of claim 5,further comprising capturing data from buying dealers to betterunderstand the buying dealers' interests or habits.
 11. A method ofclaim 5, further comprising capturing buying habits of wholesalers anddealers to identify which wholesalers or dealers have a high demand fora specific vehicle.
 12. A method of claim 11, further comprisingcontacting the wholesalers or dealers that have the high demand for thespecific vehicle.
 13. A method of claim 5, further comprising providingthe aggregate data to a franchise dealer to allow the franchise dealerto streamline its vehicles among the franchise dealer's dealerships. 14.A method of claim 5, further comprising providing the aggregate data toa transportation company.
 15. A method of claim 5, wherein the dealersuse the aggregate data to determine which bank is most profitable tofinance a vehicle.
 16. A method of claim 5, further comprising providingthe aggregate data to a registered auction house such that the auctionhouse can determine its market situations.
 17. A method of claim 5,wherein the aggregate data is put up for bid to dealers that do notparticipate in the dealers managing systems network.
 18. A method ofclaim 5, wherein the aggregate data is sold to a service company.
 19. Amethod of claim 5, wherein dealers that participate in the dealersmanaging systems network are compensated for the aggregate data when theaggregate data is distributed to non-participants.
 20. A method forkeeping a dealership apprized of changing market conditions, comprising:providing a to do list in response to the changing market conditions;and making recommendations to the dealership with regard to selling andbuying of vehicles.
 21. A method of claim 20, wherein the providing theto do list further comprises monitoring the dealership's and otherdealers' inventories; monitoring the dealership's and other dealers'sales histories; and monitoring the market conditions to determine whichdealers have high probabilities of selling vehicles for high profits inshort periods of time before making recommendations to the dealershipregarding the selling and buying of the vehicles.
 22. A method of claim20, wherein the to do list includes at least one of a number of vehiclesin retail inventory, a number of vehicles in wholesale inventory, atotal number of vehicles in inventory, a recommendation to increase ordecrease the total number of vehicles in inventory, a number of vehiclesneeding review retail purchase needs, a number of retail vehicles today,a number vehicles to watch, a number of wholesale purchase offers, anumber of vehicles for wholesale center, a number of current day supplyof vehicles, a number of target day supply of vehicles, or a reviewactivity summary.
 23. A method of claim 22, wherein the number of retailvehicles today includes vehicles that are approaching a predeterminedage threshold set by the dealership to go on the wholesale inventory.24. A method of claim 22, wherein the number of current day supply ofvehicles is a number of days it takes a dealership to sell its inventorybased on at least one of the dealership's sales history, thedealership's current inventory, the dealership's supply of vehicles, oran amount of money that is tied up in the dealership's inventory.
 25. Amethod of claim 22, wherein the number of target day supply of vehiclesis a predetermined number of days the dealership had set as a goal forthe number of days of inventory on hand.
 26. A method for sellingvehicles among competitive dealers, comprising: determining whether avehicle meets its dealer's predefined goals; flagging vehicles that donot meet their dealers' predefined goals; and placing a smart scoreranking of potential buying dealers for each of the flagged vehicles.27. A method of claim 26, wherein the smart score is based on at leastone of a number of bids a buying dealer made in the last predeterminednumber of days; a current day supply of a make and model of a vehiclefor the buying dealer according to a predetermined average of the makeand model of the vehicle sold over a predetermined number of days; acurrent day supply of a make, model, and year of a vehicle for thebuying dealer according to a predetermined average of the make, model,and year of the vehicle sold over a predetermined number of months;current day supply of a make, model, and price of a vehicle for thebuying dealer according to a predetermined average of the make, model,and price of the vehicle sold over a predetermined number of days; acurrent day supply of a make, model, and mileage of a vehicle for thebuying dealer according to a predetermined average of the make, model,and mileage of the vehicle sold over a predetermined number of days; acurrent day supply of a make, model, and mileage of a vehicle for thebuying dealer according to a predetermined average of the make, model,and mileage of the vehicle sold over a predetermined number of days; howmany vehicles of the same make and model the buying dealer sold over apredetermined number of days; the buying dealer's return on investmentfor the make and model over a predetermined number of months; how manyand what combinations of the same year, make, and model of the vehiclethe buying dealer purchased over a predetermined number of days; howmany and what combinations of the same year, make, and model of thevehicle the buying dealer has bid on over a predetermined number ofdays; the buying dealer being a member of a same dealer group; thevehicle matching an entry in the buying dealer's buy list; or how closethe vehicle matches an entry in the buying dealer's buy list.
 28. Amethod of claim 27, wherein a selling dealer sets the scores that makeup the smart score for a buying dealer.
 29. A method of claim 26,further comprising recommending a dealer to sell a flagged vehicle by atleast putting the vehicle on a wholesale center or a watch list.
 30. Amethod of claim 29, wherein a buying dealer with a higher smart score isrecommended to a selling dealer over a buying dealer with a lower smartscore.
 31. A method of claim 26, wherein a dealer's predefined goalsinclude at least one of the dealer's historical return on investment ona vehicle, the dealer's request for vehicles with a predeterminedmileage, a number of vehicles the dealer wants to sell in a year, anumber of vehicles the dealer has in stock, or an inventory turn.
 32. Amethod of claim 26, wherein each dealer may limit the dealers it wishesto deal with.
 33. A method for alerting a potential buyer of a usedvehicle, comprising: collecting data from dealers; processing the data;and notifying the potential buyer of the processed data by using atleast a fax device, a desktop computing device, a portable messagedevice, a portable voice device, a telephone, a pager, or a WAP devicewhile maintaining confidentiality of individual data of each dealer. 34.A method of claim 33, wherein the processed data includes anidentification number for the buyer to go online and get additional dataon the used vehicle.
 35. A method of claim 34, wherein the potentialbuyer gets an instant message of the processed data on any of thenotification devices.
 36. A method of claim 33, wherein a potentialseller can get an Appraisal Activity on a vehicle and place an order onthe vehicle based on the Appraisal Activity.
 37. A method for instantlyappraising vehicles by a community of dealers over a computer network,comprising: creating the community of dealers to appraise the vehicles;and appraising a vehicle in a marketplace that is at least one of alocal marketplace, a regional marketplace, or a national marketplace.38. A method of claim 37, wherein the creating of the community is doneelectronically based on at least one of the dealers' workingrelationships with each other, the dealers' registration with all theother dealers, or the dealers' performance in appraising vehicles. 39.An apparatus for determining distributed data among competitive dealers,comprising a device programmed to select the data from the dealers,process the data, and provide the processed data to the dealers whilemaintaining confidentiality of individual data of each dealer.
 40. Anapparatus of claim 39, wherein the data to be selected includes at leastone of a number of a vehicle's make that a dealer has in stock, avehicle identification number, a vehicle's year, a vehicle's make, avehicle's model, a vehicle's body style, a vehicle's exterior color, avehicle's interior color, a vehicle's mileage, a vehicle's retail askingprice, a vehicle's transactions cost, a vehicle's reconditioning cost, avehicle's age, a vehicle's selling price, a vehicle's gross profit, anacquisition need of a vehicle, a selling need of a vehicle, a vehicle'simage, a vehicle's turnover rate, or an aggregate of any of theabove-listed data.
 41. An apparatus of claim 39, wherein the distributeddata provide optimization on return on investments to the dealers.
 42. Asystem to network dealers managing systems among competitive dealers,comprising: a pooling device programmed to pool data from the dealersmanaging systems to produce aggregate data while maintainingconfidentiality of individual data of each dealers managing system; anda sharing device programmed to share the aggregate data among thedealers; wherein the dealers use the aggregate data to benchmark thedealers' market situations and to better understand the dealers'marketplace.
 43. A system of claim 42, wherein the aggregate data thatis produced by the collecting device includes aggregates of at least oneof each dealer's sales history, each dealer's inventory, each dealer'smanufacturing brand, each dealer's size, other dealers' inventories, alist of vehicles a dealer needs to sell, data relating to how certaindealers do with specific vehicles, book values of vehicles, descriptionof vehicles, and offers on vehicles from other dealers.
 44. A system ofclaim 43, further comprising a device programmed to provide to thedealer a list of dealers who might be interested in the list of vehiclesthe dealer needs to sell.
 45. A system of claim 42, wherein themarketplace is at least one of a local, a regional, or a nationalmarketplace.
 46. A system of claim 42, wherein the dealers are at leastone of a franchise dealer, a wholesale dealer, a retail dealer, or anindependent dealer.
 47. A system of claim 42, wherein the collectingdevice captures data from buying dealers to better understand the buyingdealers' interests or habits.
 48. A system of claim 42, wherein thepooling device is programmed to capture buying habits of wholesalers anddealers to identify which wholesalers or dealers have a high demand fora specific vehicle.
 49. A system of claim 48, further comprising acontacting device programmed to contact the wholesalers or dealers thathave the high demand for the specific vehicle.
 50. A system of claim 42,wherein the sharing device further provides the aggregate data to afranchise dealer to allow the franchise dealer to streamline itsvehicles among the franchise dealer's dealerships.
 51. A system of claim42, wherein the sharing device further provides the aggregate data to atransportation company.
 52. A system of claim 42, wherein the dealersuse the aggregate data to determine which bank is most profitable tofinance a vehicle.
 53. A system of claim 42, wherein the sharing devicefurther provides the aggregate data to a registered auction house suchthat the auction house can determine its market situations.
 54. Anapparatus to keep a dealership apprized of changing market conditions,comprising a device programmed to provide a to do list in response tothe changing market conditions and to make recommendations to thedealership with regard to selling and buying of vehicles.
 55. Anapparatus of claim 54, wherein the device is further programmed tomonitors the dealership's and other dealers' inventories, to monitor thedealership's and other dealers' sales histories, and to monitor themarket conditions to determine which dealers have high probabilities ofselling vehicles for high profits in short periods of time before itmakes recommendations to the dealership regarding the selling and buyingof the vehicles.
 56. An apparatus of claim 54, wherein the to do listincludes at least one of a number of vehicles in retail inventory, anumber of vehicles in a retail showroom, a number of vehicles inwholesale inventory, a total number of vehicles in inventory, arecommendation to increase or decrease the total number of vehicles ininventory, a number of vehicles needing review retail purchase needs, anumber of retail vehicles today, a number vehicles to watch, a number ofwholesale purchase offers, a number of vehicles for wholesale center, anumber of current day supply of vehicles, a number of target day supplyof vehicles, or a review activity summary.
 57. An apparatus of claim 56,wherein the number of retail vehicles today includes vehicles that areapproaching a predetermined age threshold set by the dealership to go onthe wholesale inventory.
 58. An apparatus of claim 56, wherein thenumber of current day supply of vehicles is a number of days it takes adealership to sell its inventory based on at least one of thedealership's sales history, the dealership's current inventory, thedealership's supply of vehicles, or an amount of money that is tied upin the dealership's inventory.
 59. An apparatus of claim 56, wherein thenumber of target day supply of vehicles is a predetermined number ofdays the dealership had set as a goal for the number of days ofinventory on hand.
 60. A system for alerting a potential buyer of a usedvehicle, comprising: a device programmed to collect data from dealersand to process the data; and a notification device to notify thepotential buyer of the processed data including at least one of a faxdevice, a desktop computing device, a portable message device, aportable voice device, a telephone, a pager, or a WAP device whilemaintaining confidentiality of individual data of each dealer.
 61. Asystem of claim 60, wherein the processed data includes anidentification number for the buyer to go online and get additional dataon the used vehicle.
 62. A system of claim 61, wherein the potentialbuyer gets an instant message of the processed data on any of thenotification devices.